128 oBikes parked illegally at Yew Tee park connector

For the last two months, residents and joggers in Yew Tee have had to contend with an increasing number of bicycles left indiscriminately along the Pang Sua Park Connector.

Last Wednesday, The New Paper counted 128 bicycles belonging to bike-sharing company oBike on a 500m stretch.

Most had been left on the grass patch on the side of the connector near the rear gate of Windermere condominium.

The connector, which is managed by NParks, runs from Bukit Panjang Road to Choa Chu Kang Way.

A retiree, who gave her name as Ms Ho, 64, said: "Perhaps some of the users are young, and it is a matter of imparting the right values to them."

A civil servant, who wanted to be known only as Mr M, 51, said: "I have even seen some of the bicycles in the canal. It is good to have a bike-sharing system, but people have abused it. Schoolchildren have their physical education lessons here, and the bikes are a hazard."

After TNP contacted oBike, NParks and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) last Wednesday, the bikes were gone the next day.

oBike Singapore general manager Elgin Ee told TNP: "We informed our team of maintenance guys to collect and redeploy the bikes as soon as we were notified by users and the authorities."

NParks group director of parks, Mr Chia Seng Jiang, told TNP: "NParks has been working with LTA to engage the bicycle-sharing operators to manage the issue of indiscriminate parking of shared bicycles in our parks, including park connectors."

Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min told Parliament on July 3 that notices had been issued for about 1,000 illegally parked bicycles since May, of which 200 had been impounded.

Once the notices are issued, bike-sharing operators have half a day to remove them, or they will be impounded.

A $140 impound fee is charged for each bike, and operators can also be fined up to $500 an offence.

Dr Lam said LTA will add another 6,000 bicycle lots at MRT stations and 500 lots in the city area by 2019.